Zia and Spock's Movie Marathon
by T'Liana
Summary: Spock cannot logically understand the appeal of a movie marathon. However he must strive to stay awake or risk the wrath of Zia. The movies? 'Not Without My Latinum', 'Trouble With Tribbles', 'Ode To Space' and 'When on Risa'. He'll be bored out of his mind... or will he?
1. Introduction

This story is based on the movie titles from chapter four of _Vulcan Hunters. _I thought they deserved their own stories, so yeah.

Just a note, these haven't been beta'd so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. If you find any, let me know and I'll do my best to change it as quickly as possible.

o.O.o

Spock was a very logical being. He tended to support the logical side of an argument, except when it came to his girlfriend Zia Abbott. With her, he thought emotionally. He also supported her decisions, except for now.

He didn't understand the logic of a movie marathon.

Zia was in his kitchen, getting popcorn and slushies, while he reclined comfortably on the couch in his living room. He quite liked his living room. It was spacious, with one side taken up completely by windows, the other two walls patterned with geometric grey shapes on white. Photos of Old Vulcan, his family, his crew, and Zia lined the wall, and artificial plant pots sat in the corners on either side of the television. His coffee table was made entirely of glass; his couch was white, the cushions a mixture of grey and white to match the walls. The aesthetically pleasing colour-scheme was purposeful, as Spock couldn't focus if there were too many mismatching colours. He'd correctly picked the best and most logical apartment and he didn't plan on selling it. There probably wasn't a better apartment out there.

"Guess whose back?" Zia stepped off the tiles and onto the carpet, her bare feet making no imprint. She padded over and sat down next to him, handing him a huge bucket of popcorn and a slushy. Raising an eyebrow, he examined this food.

"I do not believe I have consumed this food before," he said, his voice containing only the slightest hint of curiosity.

"You've never had popcorn before?" she asked in disbelief. "You haven't lived!"

"On the contrary, I am very much alive."

"Spock, it's an expression."

"Oh. I was not aware."

"Of course you weren't."

Smiling, she leaned across and kissed him gently. When she tried to move back he pushed his food onto the table and pressed a hand to the back of her head, keeping her there. She did not object. He deepened the kiss, feeling awareness shoot through his body. Zia pulled away from his lips and tenderly kissed both his ears. He closed his eyes.

"Now, stop distracting me," she ordered. His eyes snapped open. "I know you're plotting to distract me so we don't have to have the marathon, and it's not going to work." She grabbed the television remote and turned it on, flicking through the movie list until she found the ones she wanted.

**_Not Without My Latinum_**_ – Five Ferengi are thrown into a dangerous game of trickery and deceit, but only the winner takes all._

**_Trouble With Tribbles_**_ – What begins as an ordinary day in space quickly morphs into a dire situation when a group of pesky Tribbles sneak aboard a Starship._

**_Ode To Space _**_– Tulu Kalvin makes a comeback in this family flick filled with action, drama, song, and dance._

**_When on Risa _**_– Two Starfleet pilots travel to Risa on shore leave, only to become suspects of the murder of a fellow crewmember._

"These movies were last month's list. I've wanted to watch them all."

Pride prevented Spock from complaining. "I will persevere if it will please you."

"It will please me," she told him, tapping his nose. "Just eat the popcorn throughout the movies and drink your slushy."

He nodded. "I do believe I can accept those terms."

"Oh, and please don't fall asleep."


	2. Not Without My Latinum

The title to this particular movie was inspired by the movie 'Not Without My Daughter'. My mind changed it to latinum, and I thought of Ferengi. There are actual Ferengi words in here that I found on memory-alpha. Translations are at the end.

Summary: Five Ferengi are thrown into a dangerous game of trickery and deceit, but only the winner takes all.

This chapter is labelled Mystery/Tragedy.

o.O.o

**Not Without My Latinum**

It was pitch black. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, his breathing ragged.

"Hello?" There was no reply. Grunting, he stepped to his feet and pressed his hand against his shoulder. "Where am I?"

A tiny pinprick of light appeared to his left. Squinting, he cautiously made his way over and found a PADD lying on the ground. He listened for anything, but heard nothing. However he wanted answers, so he tapped the plain white screen.

_"Hello Meeg, it's nice to see you awake."_

"Who are you? Where am I?"

_"I am Mainframe. I cannot tell you where you are. That is something you must figure out for yourself."_

Meeg flipped the PADD around and used the meagre light to illuminate the area around him. From the looks of it, it was a long passage.

"Where does that go?"

_"Why don't you find out? It cannot be any worse than-"_

Huffing, Meeg switched off Mainframe and tucked the PADD under his shirt, gingerly feeling his way along the tunnel. His breath was laboured and his sensitive ears sought out any sound. Someone grunted nearby and he spun around, teeth bared. It was silent. After a few tense seconds he continued up the tunnel. Light appeared at the end and he became aware that the space was widening. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before walking the rest of the way. Once his fingertips left the tunnel his eyes opened.

Now he was in a darkened room, but it was lighter than the tunnel. It was tinged red, there were five other tunnels, and the floor was patterned strangely.

Footsteps sounded in another tunnel and he glanced around, his eyes resting on a Ferengi that appeared from the tunnel across from his. This Ferengi was old, his skin wrinkled, his eyesight lame and he was shorter than average (which was no difficult feat, as Ferengi were generally short).

"Who are you?" Meeg asked. The other Ferengi held up both his hands, a PADD in one.

"I'm Stonk," he replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm Meeg. Where are we?"

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is closing down my shop for the night. I heard my name, turned around, and woke up here. Wha-"

More footsteps silenced them and they watched three other Ferengi emerge from three more tunnels. One was little more than a child, his ears not fully-developed. Another was bigger than the average Ferengi, a dumb expression on his face. The third had a sly look about him, his ears large, and fingers long and constantly moving.

Stonk hobbled over and introduced himself. Meeg followed warily, sizing up the others.

The child jumped up. "My name is Oglo."

"Zog," the sly one said.

"Gint," finished the big one.

Zog glanced around and pulled a PADD from his pocket. "Do you think Mainframe brought us here?"

"It has to," Stonk replied, taking out his own PADD. Steam hissed and electricity crackled. Meeg's PADD felt hot against his stomach and he took it out, frowning as he noticed the burn mark in the back.

"They've short-circuited," he informed the others. Disgusted, Zog threw his down and folded his arms. The others dropped theirs and Meeg did too.

_"Welcome, friends, to the Network. You have been selected from the five cities of Ferenginar to participate in this event. The computers you received have been destroyed, as you no longer need them. You know me as Mainframe, and I am the controller of this event. You must make your way through the network to claim the prize of two million latinum."_

Zog gaped, "two million?!"

_"Be warned, only one will survive. I bid you farewell."_

"And don't trust anyone," Meeg muttered.

Mainframe fell silent, and Zog turned to them all. "I won't be seeing you again. I'm not leaving here without my latinum." And with that he was gone.

Meeg glanced at the other three and bolted up the sixth passage, hot on Zog's heels. He heard the others begin to follow and picked up the pace. Unlike most Ferengi, he was fit, his muscular physique giving him a slight edge. Lights were attached to the ceiling, flickering unevenly and throwing uncertain light around the tunnel. More tunnels appeared on either side and Meeg saw Zog's back down one of them. Baring his teeth, he faced forward and focussed on running along the same tunnel.

On and on he ran until he came to the conclusion that he was nowhere. This first tunnel never seemed to end. Impatient, Meeg decided to take a risk and turn down one of the other tunnels, picking one that was lit a bit more than the others. Down this one he persevered, but he was tiring. Finally, after what seemed like an age, he saw red light at the end of the tunnel. He grinned and charged towards it, bursting into a room lit with red light.

He stopped, confused. The other four sat on the ground, defeated looks on their faces.

"We wondered how long it would take for you to wind up back here," Oglo said glumly. "These passages all lead back here."

Stonk tapped his ears. "I don't understand the point of this. I've never heard of the Network in my one-hundred and twenty-three years."

Meeg sat down with them and Zog turned his back towards him in a clear show of dislike. Meeg didn't care.

"I want my latinum," Zog whined.

"It's mine!" Oglo snapped.

"No, it's mine!" Gint shouted. Zog opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey!" Meeg shouted. "Let's focus! No one is getting the latinum if we sit here and argue about it! We have to figure this thing out."

"Latinum is my forte," Zog snapped. "I haven't the slightest clue how to get through here."

Stonk, Gint and Oglo nodded their agreement, causing Meeg to roll his eyes. "So it's my job to get us out of here?"

"There are no _us_," Zog spat. "It's only me."

"And how do you propose we get out of here?" Meeg retorted. Zog was silent. "I thought so. Now, I take it all of you turned off at some point." They nodded. "So if we follow the same tunnel then we should get out of this part of the Network."

Gint stood. "Let's go. I don't like the dark."

The others stood and they cautiously ventured into the tunnel, single-file. Zog was at the back, so no one could see the smirk on his face.

Oglo slipped beside Stonk. "What do you do workwise?"

"Lobeling, I own an antique shop. It's the only thing I can manage, as I sell things from my youth in it. Are you an apprentice yet?"

"Fa, I'm apprentice to the accountant in my local area. My yoba was going to have that position, but he died, so it came to me."

The corner of Meeg's mouth twitched. "Keep the chatter to the minimum."

Zog let out a groan. "What I wouldn't do for some oo-mox right now."

Gint rounded on him. "Not in front of the lobeling."

"Frax you," Zog spat, "I can say whatever I want."

Rolling his eyes, Meeg spun around and fastened his hands around Zog's throat, pushing him back against the wall. The other Ferengi flailed, choking, his eyes bulging. "Shut up. You're not getting out of here without us and if you keep talking like this I will gladly leave you behind. Don't say those things around the lobeling, or it'll be the last thing you do."

Zog nodded, a squeak sounding from his throat, and Meeg let him go in disgust. He crumpled to his knees, coughing, his beady eyes filled with hate. Meeg turned his back and stalked away, the other three at his heels. Almost reluctantly, Zog followed.

o.O.o

"I'm hungry."

"Quiet."

"But I'm really hungry. We've been walking for ages."

"I said quiet."

Oglo stopped in his tracks, his nose working furiously. "Can you smell that? It smells like freshly-cooked, mushy slug steak."

Stonk sniffed. "No, it smells like crab."

Grinning, Zog bolted ahead. "Give me some Stardrifter in a tall glass any day!"

The others were off after them like bullets, Meeg jogging after them with his head hanging.

"They really are stupid," he muttered. And he still followed them up the tunnel. A light appeared and he closed his eyes as it enveloped him, pulling his molecules apart. Then he was together again with his feet on solid ground. Cries of joy echoed in his ears and he opened his eyes warily, blinking at the sudden light.

The other four were dancing around a table of food, set right in the middle of a large stone-walled chamber. Lamps lined the walls, as well as paintings of Ferenginar and a red curtain covering the wall opposite.

"This is amazing!" Oglo cried, grabbing a slug steak from the table and stuffing it into his mouth. Gint had his face buried in another plate while Stonk sat carefully, eating his crab with a knife and fork. Zog leant against the table with a Stardrifter in hand and Eelwasser in the other. He spotted Meeg.

"Man, you came right through the wall!" he called. "There's so much food!" He kicked Gint. "Vo yop toe pah?"

Grunting, Gint handed over a tray of flaked blood flea and continued eating. Zog kicked back and relaxed, drinking and eating as much as he could. They were happy and content, laughing in between bites.

Meeg sat next to Stonk. "This can't be anything good."

"I'm sure of that," the old Ferengi agreed, "but I'm still going to enjoy eating it. This could be my last meal."

"Mainframe did say that only one of us is getting out," Meeg said quietly.

"If it comes down to you or me, I'm picking me."

Meeg nodded. "We're Ferengi, selfishness is our thing. That aside, I'd like to say that you're a good man."

Stonk laid his crab down, shaking his head. "I'm not a good man. I've been arrested for numerous accounts of murdering clients who cheated me. Most of my adult life was spent in prison trying to get enough latinum to pay my way out."

Meeg opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

_"I'm pleased to see that you escaped the first stage of the Network. Now there's another challenge. You see that food on the table; several of those dishes are poisoned." _Everyone dropped what they were holding. _"One of you has eaten from a poisoned dish and will erupt in hives in the next two hours before dying a slow and painful death."_

Mainframe fell silent and Zog shrieked, "One of us is going to die!"

Oglo burst into tears, "Goss uff wok ton!"

"Shut up!" Meeg shouted. They fell silent. "We have to get out of here. Everyone look at the walls, floor and ceiling for any way out. There has to be something."

Oglo was frantic as he slammed his small fists against the stone walls repeatedly. Zog poked around the curtain and Gint climbed onto the table and ran his blue fingernails along the ceiling. Stonk threw all the paintings onto the floor, impeding Meeg's progress as he crawled along the floor.

"What are we looking for?!" Zog shouted.

"Find anything out of the ordinary that could be a door or tunnel!" Meeg replied calmly. He licked his lips and sighed. "At least I didn't eat anything," he muttered. His back slammed against the table, knocking half the contents off. He swore and moved his knees away from a trickle of some spilled alcoholic drink. Then he froze with his eyes and mind working furiously. Even as he watched the spilled drinks flooded in the same direction, coming to rest just under the curtain. He scrabbled along, dodging fallen food and drink, sitting just beside Zog's feet.

Zog glanced down at him, "Kora-noosa?"

"Fa," Meeg replied. "The liquid seems to converge at this point. It's almost as if there's a declining plane, sort of like a clue telling us to go here."

"Hey!" Zog called to the others. "I found it!"

Meeg rolled his eyes and felt around for anything unusual. Stonk hobbled over and was glancing at Oglo nervously, the child on the verge of panic. Gint was looking slightly uneasy, shifting on his feet, and Zog was as fiddly and sly as usual.

His eyes widened. "I've got something." His fingers pushed into the smallest of gaps and wriggled, causing one of the stones in the floor to shake. "It's this one! Stonk, Gint, Zog, grab one side each and we'll pull it up." The others took their positions, slipped their fingers in the gaps, and pulled. It was tense as the stone refused to budge, but it gradually began to give way.

"I'm not cut out for this!" Zog shouted as he strained.

"Just a bit more," Meeg ordered. They heaved, and it gave way.

The walls rumbled and water began to spray through other gaps. Oglo yelled as he was soaked. The stones that made up the walls crumbled, falling into the chamber, water pouring onto the floor, heading straight towards the way out.

"Goodbye," Zog shrieked, diving into the hole. Meeg ignored him and grabbed Stonk, lowering him down. Water wet the knees of his pants and began to trickle into the tunnel below. Gint bent over, grabbing Oglo, and lowered the child down straight afterwards, taking great care to make sure he was okay.

"Watch out!" Meeg shouted. Gint glanced back and a stone hit him solidly in the face. His head snapped back and he toppled forward into the tunnel, hitting the ground solidly. Meeg jumped through, hitting the ground at an awkward angle, and slung Gint's arm over his shoulder, racing as far away from the water as he could. It was ankle-high already and they sloshed along the tunnel as fast as possible. Oglo lead the way, screaming "Goss uff wok ton!" the whole time and slamming his fists against the walls sporadically. Stonk was at the rear, pushing Meeg and Gint along as fast as his meagre strength would allow him. Water was filling the tunnel at an alarming rate, drowning out their panicked cries and laboured breathing.

Then Oglo stopped moving. Meeg almost ran into him, but stopped just in time. "It's a T-intersection!" the child shouted. He poked his head forward, looked down, looked up, looked left, and looked right, and disappeared to the left. Meeg stepped forward, taking care not to slip, and saw that the tunnel branched off in two directions, a huge chasm barely a step away. If he was careful he could step around it and follow Oglo up the tunnel, but that would be difficult with Gint's weight. Taking a deep breath, Meeg waded as fast as possible and leapt around the chasm, falling onto the ground solidly with Gint at his side. Stonk joined him and knelt beside them.

Gint's breathing was laboured and his face was the colour of dry dirt. His eyes were barely open. "Tell my sister that… that it was me that killed Kro. Lurin is innocent; it was me."

Stonk touched his face. "I will."

Then his breathing stopped.

o.O.o

The three of them were soaked as they ambled along the tunnel numbly, shaking from what they'd witnessed.

"We- we should stop," Meeg said quietly. Oglo collapsed, sobbing, and Meeg knelt opposite him, his face in his hands.

"He died!" Oglo wailed. "How did he die?"

"A stone hit his head," Stonk told the child. "Lobeling, we cannot wait for long. One of us ate poisoned food back there."

"It could have been Gint," Oglo pointed out, "or Zog. But what if it was me? I don't want to die in pain!"

The tunnel vibrated. _"You should not have separated." _A slab of stone in the ceiling dropped and Zog fell down with it, screaming. _"That's better. The two million latinum is waiting for the winner to come and claim it, but you took the wrong path. I wish you luck getting back on the right one."_

Oglo leapt to his feet, tears streaming on his face, "Goss uff wok ton!" He fell back down, rubbing his face. "We're going to die in here."

Stonk hobbled over, "No we won't!" he said fiercely. "One of us will make it out, and we just have to see who."

On the ground nearby Zog rolled onto his back, groaning. "Great, I'm stuck with you all again. I really thought that if I was alone I might have a shot at getting the latinum. But apparently we have to stick together for now." He shook out water from his clothes. "This is just great."

Meeg rolled his eyes. "Mainframe said that we were on the wrong path."

"Maybe we should have turned right instead of left at the T-intersection," Stonk suggested.

"Let's try it." Zog turned and headed back up the tunnel as quick as his short legs could carry him. The others followed slowly, wary of what they could find. "Oh, come on!" Zog stamped and turned back, rage on his face. Meeg stepped around him and touched the huge stone slab that blocked their way.

"Just turn around and keep on walking," he said quietly. "Mainframe's messing with us. The Network is a maze, and all mazes have a way of ending. If we keep going the way we're going, it eventually has to end, even if it's a complete circle. There will be some way out of this. Follow me."

He stood and marched off, new meaning in his steps. Oglo and Stonk shared a look and followed. Zog was reluctant, but took a deep breath before heading after the others.

They continued walking for what seemed like forever. Meeg's determination did not falter, his face set in deep lines, lips pursed tightly. The others weren't as sure as him about their path, as seen in their wandering attention, but they followed him anyway.

Finally, after forever, the tunnel began to widen. Oglo's small ears perked with interest and he moved to the side and ran his fingers along it. He frowned.

"The walls are getting sticky," he said.

Meeg stopped in his tracks. "I think I know why."

In front of them was a deep pool of slime that was being lit by something unknown. Meeg could see a stone path under a thin layer of slime, but each block was placed diagonally to the others, changing the path to a checkerboard pattern with only two lines. He knelt down beside the pool and touched the slime, his finger sliding in easily and enveloped by sticky slime. Bile rose in his throat and he pulled his hand away, using the other one to cover his mouth.

"Ew, your finger stinks like a damp forest," Oglo whined, pulling a face.

Meeg took a deep breath and forced back the nausea. "Okay, this is why we have to be together. This stuff is incredibly slimy and sticky; we could either slip or be stuck in place; so we have to hold hands and cross in a line."

There was immediate protest. "I'm not holding anyone's hand!" Zog protested. Meeg stalked over to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly. Zog swallowed and shut his eyes to the pain, waiting there for a few agonising moments before Meeg let go.

"I'll be first," Meeg ordered, "followed by Oglo, Zog and Stonk at the rear. Get in a line." They did. "Let's go."

Meeg stepped carefully onto the first block, freezing as his foot began to slip off the stone. Then he put all his weight on the foot, forcing it onto the block with vertical force. Taking care not to change the angle of force, he put his other foot forward. That began to slip and he put his weight on his back foot for a second while adjusting his position.

The others followed his progress, stepping carefully along the slimy stones, sometimes slipping and correcting their stances. Oglo had the hardest job, as he had no weight to rely on, and focused more on keeping hold of Meeg and Zog, who was paying incredible attention while muttering, "My latinum, my latinum, it's my latinum."

With a sigh of relief Meeg stepped off the stones, but kept his weight the same. The bottoms of his boots were slimy and he could slip. He turned and helped Oglo off, pushing the boy behind him. Then he held out his arms for Zog. Zog reached out both hands, letting go of Stonk's. The old man lurched forward at the loss of pressure from Zog, losing his balance. He hit the stones where Zog had just stood, slime filling his mouth, and slipped off. Meeg cried out and pushed Zog behind him, kneeling forward and attempting to grab Stonk's clothes, but he was too far away. He hovered on top of the slime for a second, but then he slid underneath and sank.

Now Stonk was dead too.

"No!" Oglo cried, crawling forward. Meeg turned and pushed the frantic boy back.

"He's gone," Meeg murmured. "Stay back or you'll be gone too."

Oglo wiped his face with slimy hands and looked down at their green-coated bodies. "We look terrible."

"Come on," Zog urged. "I want to get out of here. You can be all upset when we're away from this stench." He gestured to the tunnel.

"You're right," Oglo nodded. He followed Zog and Meeg spared one last glance where Stonk had sunk.

"No one can be trusted," he murmured.

o.O.o

Oglo and Zog were sleeping while Meeg couldn't. He rested against the wall tiredly, but sleep eluded him, so he drew patterns in the slime in the ground. After a few minutes he realised that he'd drawn the Ferengi military symbol.

"Why were we chosen?" he whispered. "Of all the Ferengi of Ferenginar, there has to be a reason for the decision. What do we have in common? Stonk owned an antique shop, the lobeling was the accountant's apprentice, Zog probably worked in politics and Gint… well I don't know what he did. Me? I'm a military man. We have absolutely nothing in common, so there must be a reason for this somewhere else."

Mainframe interrupted his musing. _"Well, two Ferengi down. I'm surprised that you have made it this far."_

Meeg stood up, ignoring Oglo and Zog's exclamations. "Mainframe, why are we here?! There has to be a reason."

_"Subjects do not normally question the Network. The two million latinum should be the forefront of your desires."_

His eyes widened. "Is this some kind of sick experiment? Who the hell are you?"

_"You should not question the Network."_

"I will question it! Why were we chosen? What's the point of all this? I'll bet my shoes that there is no latinum at the end of the thloppering!"

The tunnel began to shake and Zog kicked Meeg.

"You shouldn't have made Mainframe angry!" he shouted.

"What else was there to do? Someone has to question the Network."

"Whatever, let's just get out of here! I want my latinum."

Meeg rolled his eyes and grabbed Oglo, pushing the child ahead of him. Zog trailed after them, having difficulty keeping his balance as the tunnel threatened to break apart underneath him. They ran as the tunnel shook, jumping as the ceiling behind them broke. Stones rained from above, hitting the ground with such force that the tunnel's stability was threatened.

"Pip im gren tovat!" Zog shouted. "You did this!"

"We can argue later!" Meeg replied.

Zog shook his head violently. "I didn't kill my boss just to die here!"

They ran, covering their ears with their arms, protecting themselves as much as possible. Small stones bounced off their shoulders and occasionally a larger one would smash to bits at their feet. Still they ran to escape the cave-in. Oglo screamed in fear, Zog shrieked about the latinum, and Meeg was silent. He couldn't hear exactly what the others were saying; the falling tunnel was too loud.

A shout, louder than the falling stones, pierced the darkness. Meeg spun around and using what remained of the flickering lights, he saw Zog disappear underneath a pile of rubble. Oglo screamed with even greater volume than before and Meeg grabbed the child, slinging him over his shoulder.

Now it was just the two of them, but there was still no sign of the cave-in stopping. Oglo bounced as uselessly as a rag doll, clinging to Meeg's shoulder with all his meagre strength. Meeg closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.

And the stones were motionless. They stopped falling and stayed where they were, but Meeg still ran.

"Stop, STOP!" Oglo shouted. "It's over!"

"No," Meeg panted, "it's not. It'll never be over."

Oglo wriggled around and slapped Meeg's face. "Stop running!"

Meeg stopped suddenly and dropped Oglo, sending the boy crashing to the ground. "I stopped," he said softly. "You have to know that what I said before is true. There has to be a reason for us being here."

"What kind of reason? We have absolutely nothing in common except that we're all Ferengi."

He stared in the endlessness of the tunnel, his mind working rapidly. "We're all Ferengi… and what do all Ferengi have in common? We lie, cheat, steal, even kill to reach our goals." A gasp sounded in the darkness. "That's it! We're killers. Stonk killed clients who cheated him, Gint killed Kro, Zog killed his boss and I've killed… countless people in the name of the law." He gripped Oglo's collar and dragged the boy up. "Who did you kill? WHO DID YOU KILL?!"

"I killed my yoba!" Oglo shouted. Meeg dropped him. "He was going to be the accountant's apprentice and I wanted that job, so I killed him." He didn't even sound the least bit sad! Meeg slid down the wall with his hands on his face.

_"Well done."_

They both stared at the ceiling. "What do you want?!" Meeg shouted.

_"You are the first to figure out the purpose of the Network, and you are to be congratulated for your ingenuity. Yes, it is designed to capture murderers and make them suffer."_

"Zog was never an enemy! It was always you!"

_"Indeed it was always me. I used your greed as a tool and the challenges to instil the same fear in you as your victims felt when they were killed."_

"It's my job to kill. I'm a military man."

_"Ah, but you take pleasure in killing. That is the beauty of the Network. It doesn't treat you differently if you killed your victims quickly or slowly; as far as it is concerned, you are a murderer and you must die."_

"What you're doing is wrong!"

_"It's no more wrong than killing someone simply because they wronged you, duty called for it or they were in your way."_

"Are we going to debate ethics, or are we going to progress to the next stage?!"

_"You are mistaken, for you are at the last stage before claiming the latinum."_

"What do you-?"

Beside him, Oglo fell to the ground, groaning. Meeg knelt beside him and cried out. Hives and sores covered his skin, from his small ears to the ankles at the bottoms of too-short pants. Oglo was coughing, his eyes filled with pain.

"I never really got to live," he moaned, clutching his middle. "My moogie wanted me to earn enough latinum to live a full and happy life, but now it'll never happen." He coughed, blood peppering his lips. "You're going to survive this. You were the only honourable one of us all – the smartest one."

"No, you were the good one. All of you were. We were good men, but killers all the same. There are some things in the past that we can't change."

Oglo nodded and took Meeg's hand, his face and body contorting in pain. "It hurts! Why was I the one that ate the poisoned food?!" He curled up in a ball, whimpering. "Just kill me already."

"I would if I could."

_"That's murder."_

"It's voluntary euthanasia! Come on Oglo, just breathe, in and out. There we go. You can do it. I'll be right here until the end."

Oglo's eyes glazed over. "I can finally apologise to my brother…" And like that he was gone.

Meeg sat there numbly for several minutes, clutching the small body in his arms. His own body began to shake, "MAINFRAME!"

_"He was always going to die. Now you have a choice: die here or take the two million latinum and leave. Either way it's your choice."_

Shaking, Meeg laid down Oglo's mangled body and stood. "I'll take the latinum and leave." There was a mysterious gleam in his eyes.

_"A wise choice; the lights will guide your way."_

So he followed the lights, each step seemingly more difficult than the last. His face betrayed nothing of what he was feeling, set in determined lines. Then the lights ended and he stood in front of a door. He pushed it open and saw a latinum chip sitting on a table right in front of him. He took it without hesitation and as soon as it left the table a door on the opposite wall opened to reveal the night sky.

_"You will leave the Network as a changed man. Know that murder leads to pain, and that it's wrong to kill."_

Meeg said nothing and walked straight out the door, tuning out whatever Mainframe said next. He stepped outside and the door shut behind him. When he glanced back the door was gone, seeming to fade into the hillside.

"We will meet again," he said in a low voice, tucking the chip into his pocket. "This latinum will fuel my revenge, and I will destroy both you and the Network. Murder is wrong, but this is wrong too. I will retaliate, on the honour of Gint, Stonk, Zog and Oglo. So long Mainframe."

Then, covered in muck, slime and dust, he strolled down the hillside purposefully, his lips pursed in a grim line.

o.O.o

**_Ferengi Translations_**

_Latinum – money_

_Lobeling – child_

_Fa – yes_

_Yoba – brother_

_Oo-mox – massage of the ears, a sexual practice_

_Frax – curse word_

_VO yop toe pah – can I have that_

_Goss uff wok ton – let us out of here_

_Kora-noosa – anything_

_Thloppering – storm_

_Pip im gren tovat – this is all your fault_

_Moogie – mother_


	3. Trouble with Tribbles

As most of you will know, the basis for this story was inspired by TOS 'The Trouble with Tribbles' episode. Bear in mind, I am a writer, not an Engineer, and I hope I've done the Starships justice. Also, think of this as a movie with movie format. It makes it a lot more interesting. If you find any mistakes in this chapter please let me know.

Summary: What begins as an ordinary day in space quickly morphs into a dire situation when a group of pesky Tribbles sneak aboard a Starship.

This chapter is labelled Drama/Humour

o.O.o

**Trouble with Tribbles**

After a long journey through Warp, it was a relief to land on a Federation planet to refuel and resupply. A man stood at the entrance to the supply shuttle, taking stock of all the supplies, while the rest of his crew enjoyed an hour of sunshine.

"Hey," the man nudged a supply drone. "What's in that crate there?" The crate in question was large and unmarked.

"Content: engineering equipment," the drone said automatically. The man hesitated.

"Alright, put it on."

A Trill approached. "Captain Parker, how're we going with supplies?"

"You're the First Officer," the Captain grinned, his teeth stark white against his black skin, "you tell me."

The First Officer glanced at the PADD in his Captain's hands. "We've got food, just in case the synthesisers break again, and most of the mechanical equipment aboard. We're just waiting on water, fuel, medical supplies and the small personal things that the crewmembers need, like an extra uniform, boots, microchips, and PADD batteries, etcetera…"

"Good job Dex," Captain Parker nodded. "It's good to see that you've learned something in the past two months. My attention has not been wasted."

First Officer Dex rolled his eyes. "With all due respect Captain-"

"Oh! This means that you're going to insult me and you hope that I take no offence from it."

"No Captain. I just… framed it poorly."

Parker slapped Dex's shoulder good-naturedly. "Spit it out, I'm your Captain not your daddy."

"Well, what I mean to say is that you have taught me stuff, and I am grateful because there were countless other officers vying for the position of First Officer aboard the _U.S.S. Everest._"

"You were the most qualified for the job." Parker watched a crate approach and checked the label, marking it on his PADD. "Well here's half the medical supply, just waiting on the hypos and vaccines."

"Captain, I'll take care of this. You just go and spend some out-of-chair time with your daughter."

"Thanks Dex." With that, Captain Parker handed over the PADD and left to find his daughter. He strolled away from the docking station on the planet and into the sheltered hangar, fit with a cafeteria and rooms where crewmembers could freshen up. "It's a good place to relax after two months in space," he sighed. "Now where's Nayah?" Scanning the sea of faces, he tapped the shoulder of a nearby crewmember. "Hey Jasec, have you seen Nayah?"

"No Captain." Jasec, a Bajoran, shook his head. "I haven't seen her since the shuttle ride down here."

"Thanks anyway." He moved across the cafeteria and waved at a pretty woman. "Cristina! How's my hard-working Communications Officer?"

"She's very well Captain," Cristina replied. "What's up?"

Parker stood behind her chair and leant in close. "Have you seen Nayah?

"Uh… no Captain; not since she shuttle ride down."

"When did you last see her? Who was with her?"

"She was walking out of the shuttle with that Asian kid, Fujiwara."

"Wait, do you mean Chris Fujiwara?"

"Yeah, the one who works in the anthropology department?"

He frowned and put his hands against Cristina's shoulders. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Everyone knows what happens to crewmembers who try to mess around with my baby girl." A smile stretched across his face. "Remember Jackson?"

"Oh yes," Cristina laughed. "You told him to stay away from Nayah or you'd send him to Delta Vega for as long as you felt like it."

Parker rolled his eyes. "How long has he been there?"

"Six weeks I believe." Cristina grinned. "He really was stupid."

He squeezed her shoulders. "Well we're getting back up in forty minutes, so I'll see you then."

o.O.o

Captain Parker lounged in his chair casually, yet the rest of the Bridge cast him glances. There was a vein throbbing in his temple, unseen on his dark-skinned face. His blackness only made him more noticeable when on board the shiny white _Everest._

"Captain," Dex said, "Nayah has boarded the ship. She does not seem dishevelled in any way."

"Good," Captain Parker growled. "When I get my hands on Fujiwara…"

"Relax; I'm sure there's nothing going on."

"You don't have kids, so you don't know what the hell you're talking about." At his harsh words, the First Officer blinked and retreated to his station. Sighing, the Captain glanced around the Bridge. Cristina sat at her Communications console and Jasec was at the Science console, headphones on and scanning for anomalies in space. Satisfied that that was in order, Parker tapped the arm of the chair. "Mister Telis, is the warp core a go?"

_"__Yes Captain. She's had her rest and she's all juiced up. We're ready to go."_

"Thanks Telis." He turned off the comm and faced the front window. "Brigit, let's punch into Warp."

The pilot pressed a few buttons and pushed a lever, and the _Everest _went into Warp. It began its steady hum and Captain Parker stood and left the Bridge, his face betraying nothing. He marched through the corridors purposefully, nodding at tired-looking crewmembers that he passed. Eventually he stopped in front of a door labelled 'Anthropology'. It opened and he stalked through.

"Everyone, out!" he snapped. "Fujiwara, you stay here."

All the anthropologists except for a shorter-than-average Asian man, glancing back at their colleague without pity.

"Yes Captain?" Fujiwara asked.

Parker stepped in and was about to speak when the lights failed and they were plunged into darkness. There was a distinct power-down sound and he could sense that the ship had dropped out of Warp. He grabbed his communicator. "Dex, what's going on?"

o.O.o

Nayah stepped into the Turbolift and pressed the button for the bridge. She was transported and the doors opened, revealing Cristina.

"Hey," Nayah smiled. "Is dad here?"

"No," Cristina shook her head. "He left just before." She stepped into the Turbolift. "You want to get out?"

"Nah, just take me to the labs."

Cristina pressed a button and the Turbolift flashed for a second before stopping. Frowning, Nayah glanced up, and all lights ceased. Cristina rapped on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She whipped out her communicator. "Captain, please respond."

o.O.o

First Officer Dex looked miserable as he made his way to Engineering to run a systems' diagnostic while at Warp. "Telis may be the Engineer, but I like to check things out myself," he said to himself. "It's just bad luck that the Captain decided to snap."

He turned into the Engineering corridor and came across no one. Seeing the door not too far in front of him, he took a second to turn on his PADD and Tricorder. A moment later he heard hissing and the door to Engineering and the door behind him slid shut. Then the lights went out and the only way he could see was with the PADD in his hands.

His face glowing blue in the light, he ran to the Engineering door and rapped on it. "Hello! Can someone hear me?"

There was a rap on the other side. "Yeah Dex, I can hear you!"

"Telis," he sighed in relief. "What's going on?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but we've dropped out of Warp."

o.O.o

Captain Parker held his communicator for a few moments. "Damn, I bet he hasn't got a communicator with him."

His own communicator crackled. _"Captain, can you hear me?"_

"Cristina, yeah I can hear you! Where are you?"

_"__I'm stuck in the Turbolift. It's pretty dark. Can you do anything from where you are?"_

"Negative. I'm stuck in the anthropology lab with Fujiwara."

_"__Dad, what the hell are you doing?!"_

He blinked. "Nayah where are you?"

_"__I'm in the Turbolift too. Are you terrorising Chris? I don't want a repeat of Jackson."_

In the darkness, Fujiwara gulped.

"Hun, let me talk to Cristina."

_"__Yeah, I'm here. Have you tried contacting Dex?"_

"He's not answering."

_"__Drat! He left his communicator in his station compartment."_

Parker ran a hand over his face. "Let's just forget that for a moment. Okay, the power's out, so whatever's wrong is probably in Engineering. Plus we've dropped out of Warp." He sucked in a breath. "What about ventilation?"

_"__It's getting stuffy in here, so I think that system's operating at minimal capacity."_

"Bloody hell… alright; let's see what we can do from where we are."

o.O.o

There was scrabbling behind the door. "Sorry Dex, but I can't see a thing."

"Aren't there emergency torches?"

"That would help if I could see them."

"Come on Telis, this is your zone. You've got to know it well enough to be able to find the torches."

"I'll try again."

"If all else fails just use battery-powered equipment." As Telis scurried off to find the torches, Dex used his Tricorder to scan the door. It was sealed shut. "Could it be a full lockdown?"

"That could be it."

He jumped. "Telis, please knock! You know I'm terrified of the dark."

"Sorry Dex. Okay, I'm in the main computer room and it's completely blocked off from everyone else. All the computers are down and I've found the torches! It's downright spooky in here. Is anyone out there with you?"

"No, it's just me. Look, this door is sealed shut. I reckon it's like this throughout the whole ship. Do you have a PADD?"

"Goddammit, no I don't. Hold up, I'll see if I can start up one of the computers."

Dex waited patiently, listening as Telis tapped away at a keyboard and cursed. There was a knock on the door.

"I take it you were unsuccessful."

"Yep, there's no power."

He bit his lip. "Maybe if you could find a way to get me in here you can wire my PADD into the system to find out the problem."

"That's a good idea. Sit down; I'll try and find something helpful."

Nodding, Dex slid down the wall and brought up the schematics for the _Everest_. He located all two-hundred and seventy-eight doors and smacked his face. "Damn, they'll all be closed. How many people are trapped?" He did a full life-signs search. "Wow, it looks like everyone's trapped." He raised his voice. "Telis, I think we're the only people who can do something!"

"What do you mean?!"

"Everyone else is at their stations, so they have no power and they're trapped." He bit his lip again. "Do you think ventilation has been turned off?"

"I hope not!"

Dex fell silent, deep in thought.

o.O.o

"Sir, you should stop pacing."

"Stop talking boy." Captain Parker glared at Fujiwara and continued pacing. "I can take out my frustration on you, if you like."

Fujiwara stood up straight. "With all due respect Captain-"

"Everyone seems to be saying that today," he muttered.

"-I have no idea why you dislike me so much. I know you're a good Captain and you're good to your crew, and I can't understand how I've annoyed you."

"You don't know?!" He stepped in close. "Have you heard what I did to the last boy who tried to mess with my baby girl?"

"You sent him to Delta Vega."

"That's right. If you so much as touch her I will do the same to you."

"Oh." His face cleared. "I see where we went wrong. Captain, I have no interest in dating your daughter."

"Then what were you doing with her on the planet?"

Fujiwara shifted. "I, uh… I'd rather not say."

"Did you try anything with her?"

"No."

"Then I don't want to hear it."

o.O.o

"Hey Dex, you should stand back."

"What did you find?"

"I got my hands on a drill. I'm going to drill holes really close together in a square, so when I'm finished you can kick the square out. It'll be loud and messy, so back up."

Dex grabbed his things and immediately backed up as far as he could to the other end of his small section of corridor. He moved to the side, giving space in case the door decided to fly in his direction.

Telis began to drill, the sound echoing cruelly in the small space. Dex cowered in his corner, bringing his uniform up over his ears for meagre protection. He whimpered as Telis continued to drill, writhing as his head began to pound. He could hear his heart pump… _ba-boom, ba-boom_ … _boom, boom, boom… Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!_

He was roused by a hand shaking his shoulder. "Dex, it's okay." Slowly, Dex sat up from where he'd curled up on the ground, shaking. Telis grabbed his wrists and wrenched his arms away from around his head. He shone his torch in the Trill's eyes. "Man, you don't look so good."

"I'll be okay," he said shakily. "I just don't like loud noises either."

"You're impossible." Telis shook his head. "Come on, let's go and see what's going on."

Dex got heavily to his feet, accepted a torch from Telis, and they made their way through the hole in the door to main computer room. Like Telis had said, it was pitch black. All the computers were deactivated, the doors were sealed shut and there was probably no ventilation. Telis rummaged under one of the consoles and emerged with a connecting chord. Dex attached his PADD to a computer and interfaced the system. He crossed his fingers.

"There's a good chance that this won't work since there's no power," he said.

Telis shook his head. "It'll work. I've been nurturing this baby for ten years."

Nodding, Dex grinned as the screen was taken over by computer information. He sifted through it all quickly, the screen lighting up as it showed schematics. Tongue between his teeth, he scanned for any problem. Something began to glow red.

"There's a problem in main Engineering with the conductors. The power supply has been blocked and that's why we're dead in the water."

Telis glanced at the screen. "It's right in the room next to this one. I'm going to have to drill again."

Dex left his PADD connected to the computer and retreated to the corridor outside, moving as far away as possible. He felt around his pockets and cursed.

"Dammit, I've left my communicator on the Bridge!"

o.O.o

Breathing slowly, Nayah sunk to the floor of the Turbolift. Cristina was still poking around, hoping to find a way out, and it was clear that Nayah had given up.

"There's no point," she said softly.

"No, we have to get out of here or we'll suffocate," Cristina replied. "I may only be a Communications Officer, but I know a thing or two about computers."

"Well I'm a botanist, so I have no idea what to do."

"Relax. Your dad will find a way to save us."

"You know he won't. Have you been to the anthropology lab? They only have computers for documenting and alien specimens lining the walls. He's not getting out of there. The only way we'll get out is if someone from Engineering figures out what's wrong."

Cristina shook her head. "Don't give up on your dad so easily. He's a smart man."

Nayah sighed. "Okay, but in the meantime just fiddle with your computers and let's see what happens."

Cristina ran her hands along the wall until she found the panel and prised it off. She squinted at the shapes beneath it. "I can't see any chords. That idea was a bust." She put the panel back over the top and sat beside Nayah. "There's still a good chance that we'll get out of here."

"Yeah, and I can't wait. Is this a bad time to tell you that I'm claustrophobic?"

o.O.o

Dex and Telis stepped through the hole and out of the main computer room, shining their torches into the deserted area they now found themselves in. There were several large conductors positioned in front of them, leading from the Core to everywhere in the ship.

A slight humming noise sounded. "Can you hear that?" Dex whispered.

"Yeah," Telis replied. "It sounds like cats purring."

"I thought it was humming."

Confusion written on their faces, they crept forward toward the turbine power conductors. Dex kept his PADD and Tricorder close, muttering about wanting a phaser.

Something squeaked underneath Telis' foot. "ARGH!" he shrieked, jumping back. "What the _hell _was that?"

Dex shone his torch at the ground, revealing a tiny fluff ball just sitting there. He swore. "It's a Tribble. We're in big trouble."

"Great," Telis moaned, shining his torch around. "Those things multiply like rats in a sewer."

The metaphor confused Dex, but he said nothing. They continued to cross to the conductors, keeping an eye out for more Tribbles. As they got closer to their target, the number of Tribbles increased until they had to make a space to step in. Dex's torch found an unmarked crate, identical to the ones that had been loaded on the _Everest _earlier that day. He cursed again.

"Well I know how they got on here. They snuck in disguised as engineering equipment, I assume, and multiplied like crazy in here. I'll bet it was them that caused all this trouble."

Telis got down to his hands and knees, propping his torch in his mouth, and slid along the floor, pushing Tribbles aside. They squeaked every time they were touched and Dex shook his head before following the Engineer. They crawled along, ignoring the indignant squeaks of the fluffy Tribbles, intent on making it to the steps. Telis reached them first and brushed all the Tribbles from the steps gently, chuckling as they bounced like handballs.

"You 'ave to a'mi', 'ey are 'retty cu'e." His words were distorted by the torch pressed in between his lips.

"I guess so, bu' 'ey're a menace." Dex gave a muffled cry as a Tribble bounced off his face. "Care'ul! What I want to know is 'ow 'ey go' enou' food 'o 'ultip'y."

"We ca' 'ink abou' tha' la'er. For now le's jus' try an' 'igure ou' jus' wha' wen' wrong with 'he conduc'ors."

They reached the top of the steps and crawled along the platform, pushing aside more Tribbles. Telis paused as he faced a wall of Tribbles, and Dex crawled straight into his behind. In the recoil, Dex's PADD slipped from under his arm and landed far below him, on top of a pile of Tribbles. He yanked his torch from his mouth.

"Dammit, I dropped the PADD!"

"Not good," Telis moaned. "We need that to restart the conductors."

"But I've still got my Tricorder in my pocket." He stood shakily, shining his torch at his PADD, sitting on top of a trembling pile of fluffiness.

"No, no, we need that for gaining data, but the PADD could be plugged into the conductors to restart them." Telis stood too, rubbing his face. "Do you fancy diving down there and getting it?"

Dex glanced down at the pile. "It looks soft. What if I fall straight through?"

"It's a risk you have to take. The whole ship could be surrounded by Klingons right now and we would have no idea."

He glanced at the pile again. "Great."

o.O.o

Tired of pacing, Parker sat down beside Fujiwara. "I'm sorry for snapping at you before."

"It's okay," the anthropologist shrugged. "You're protective of your daughter and I respect that. But are you okay with us being friends? She really is brilliant, and botanists work closely with anthropologists when examining cultures."

Parker shot this _look _at him. "I said that I was sorry, not that I wanted you two to be buddy-buddies."

Fujiwara shrugged, unfazed. "Yes Captain. But if she still wants to be friends then there's nothing you can do. She's allowed to be friends with whoever she likes."

"I'm her dad."

"And _I'm _saying that you need to give her some space. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Captain, but I'm giving you advice. Don't smother her. If you give her some leeway then she's free to become even more brilliant than she really is."

"How do you know that?"

He smiled grimly. "I have two brothers and one sister. My own father babied my sister Lara and she was nothing special. When my mother told him to stand back and let her do her own thing, she flourished and she's now a well-known physicist with countless published papers. Before that she was a stay-at-home girl with a part-time job marking physics exams for the local high school." Fujiwara glanced over at his Captain. "If you let her thrive then she could become head of the botany department and make some good friends her own age."

The Captain leant back against the table. "Normally I'd tell you to stop telling me how to raise my girl. But I think you make some valid points."

"Give her some space. Let her do your own thing. You'll be surprised by the transformation."

"Never thought I'd be taking advice from a kid half my age," Parker muttered.

"Wisdom comes from experience, Captain." Fujiwara ran his fingers through his hair tiredly.

Parker was about to speak when the ventilation shaft above them broke off from the ceiling, crashing down where the Captain had been pacing mere minutes ago. A dozen fluffy creatures fell from the gap, bouncing and rolling in different directions.

"What the hell…?"

"They're Tribbles Captain. What are they doing in the ventilation?" Fujiwara stood and peered up into the narrow shaft. "Neither of us could fit in there." He kicked all the Tribbles as far away as possible and sat back down. "Don't feed them; otherwise they'll multiply like crazy. Each Tribble is born pregnant and if fed properly they can breed ten more Tribbles every twelve hours. They're a nuisance Captain."

Parker whipped out his communicator and dialled a number. "Cristina, Nayah, you okay?"

_"__It's getting pretty hard to breathe here Captain," _Cristina rasped. _"Nayah fell asleep a few minutes ago… I'm keeping an eye on her. It's stuffy and there's no air."_

"Be advised Lieutenant, there are Tribbles aboard." As he spoke, Fujiwara seemed to wince guiltily, but Parker was too immersed in his conversation to notice.

_"__They can't reach us here… we're on our own… suffocating."_

"Stop speaking Cristina," Parker said softly. "Sit down and breathe. We'll be out of this soon."

_"__Yes sir…"_

The call was terminated and Parker glanced at the Asian man beside him. "Someone should be bloody figuring this out."

o.O.o

Dex landed in the pile of Tribbles heavily, his hands wrapping around the PADD and clutching it close to his body. He sunk into the pile, disappearing among the Tribbles. Above him, Telis was clearing off the platform so he could reach the console that operated the conductors.

Feeling a bit like he was stuck in a ball pool, Dex found the ground and pushed his way out of the sea of fluff, hoping that none of the creatures would stick to his uniform.

"I've cleared a path," Telis called softly. Dex nodded and winced as his Starfleet regulation boots squashed a Tribble. _SQUEAK! _He opted to slide his feet along the floor instead of step, which was harder but the squeaks lessened.

Finally he reached the steps and walked carefully, pressing the PADD to his chest. When he got to the top he took great care not to slip, thankfully stopping behind Telis.

"Got it," he murmured, shining his torch further along the platform.

Telis did the same. "I'll bet that damned console won't work. We should hurry to get this thing repaired because everyone in here is trapped with no air. The sooner we get this done the more lives we can save."

They proceeded to step carefully between the Tribbles. "Where are all the other engineers?" Dex asked, with his brow furrowed in concentration.

"I suppose they're all working on the upgrades to the hydraulics or monitoring the Warp Core." Telis nudged a few Tribbles over the edge of the platform. "This happened right when I was in the middle of my flight check. It's probably a good thing that I sent my department to other areas. What were you doing down here?"

"Running my usual flight diagnostic," Dex replied.

"Oh, I thought you would do that a bit later, given the whole issue with the Captain."

The Trill stared at the back of the Engineers head. "What have you heard?"

"I heard that he snapped at everyone because one of the young men was making eyes at his daughter. Is that really what happened?"

Dex winced. "I don't know the full facts, but I suspect that that's the main reason why. He was pretty… angry on the Bridge."

Telis held out a hand to stop. "Here, the console is just over there, right in the middle of all the conductors."

They made their way along the corridor, dodging around Tribbles that covered the platform. Now Dex could clearly see the console, right in the middle of a field of Tribbles. Several conductors lined this area of the room the usual whirring and light non-existent.

"I've seen these before," Dex told the Engineer, "but then they were turned on and it was light." He cast the light from his torch over the conductors, revealing an abundance of fluff coating each one. "Maybe the Tribbles were the cause of the problem?"

"Maybe," Telis said slowly. He began to walk down the steps, keeping his torch riveted on the ground in front of him. Dex followed and the pair waded through the waist-high Tribbles, torches back in their mouths. After what seemed like an age they reached the console. Telis took the PADD and used the connection chord from the main computer room to connect the two together. "Okay, hopefully with this I can figure out what caused the problem." He waited and the PADD's screen blinked as it successfully connected. After pressing a few buttons he sucked in a breath. "The problem is that every single conductor has been interrupted simultaneously. The computer is telling me that there's a 'foreign object'."

Dex rolled his eyes, "damn Tribbles."

o.O.o

On the Bridge, Science Officer Jasec was frantically tapping at the controls. "Lieutenant Brigit, is there anything you can do to slow us down?"

"No sir," the pilot, Brigit replied. "I have absolutely no power." She glanced out the front window screen. "I mean, I could apply the manual brake but that's all the way in Engineering."

Jasec cursed and stared outside. Everyone on the Bridge could clearly see the atmosphere of a nearby planet coming closer and closer. Jasec did some quick calculations in his head. "At the rate we're floating, we'll break orbit in approximately twenty minutes. Then we'll burn up and die. Has someone got into contact with Engineering?"

"No Captain," someone replied.

The Bajoran cursed again. "No Captain, no First Officer and no Communications Officer. And we're going to burn up in a planets' atmosphere in twenty minutes." He ran his fingers along the creases of his nose. "I need answers!"

"I'm sorry sir," Brigit told him, "but we don't have any."

The planet came closer with every passing second.

o.O.o

"There's a Tribble stuck in the last transfer chamber!" Dex shouted.

"I've got three in here!"

Dex reached into the chamber and pulled the Tribble out, closing up the small space and getting rid of all other Tribbles in that particular area. "And that was only one," he muttered. "Why does it have to be Tribbles?" He climbed down from on top of the conductor and shone his torch at the rest of the conductors, all of them Tribble-free. "Telis, please tell me you can reactivate the conductors and turn the power back on."

"Yup, I'm sure I can do that," Telis said, sliding down from the conductor and landing heavily in front of Dex. The pair darted down the steps and slid through the sea of Tribbles to the console. Telis grabbed the PADD and pressed the screen, sliding his finger along it. "Let's hope that it works." He took a deep breath and pressed the screen.

Immediately the conductors kicked into action, whirring like crazy. The entire area flickered for a second and burst into light, causing Dex and Telis to blink rapidly.

"You're a genius!" Dex shouted. "Now stay here and make sure nothing goes wrong; I have to get to the Bridge!"

He turned and ran through the Tribbles, up onto the platform and all the way to the Bridge.

o.O.o

As soon as the lights flicked on the door slid open. Parker leapt to his feet and raced from the lab, Fujiwara following confusedly. The pair ran the short way to the Bridge and burst through the door.

"Captain Parker!" Jasec shouted. "We're falling into this planet's orbit!"

Parker dived into his chair. "Do we have enough power to stop?"

"No sir." Jasec tapped frantically at his controls.

"Lieutenant, can you divert our path?" Parker asked.

"I can try," Brigit told him. The ship began to shake. "We've entered the atmosphere!"

At that second Dex burst onto the Bridge.

"Where the hell were you?" Parker berated.

"In Engineering saving the ship Captain," Dex replied, grabbing onto the Captain's chair. The ship tilted dangerously. Near the door, Fujiwara's eyes widened and he ran from the Bridge. No one noticed.

"Well we've strayed too close to a planet and don't have enough power to stop or land."

Brigit spun in her chair. "Captain, someone in Engineering could pull the manual brake."

Parker nodded. "Initiate ship-wide communication." He waited for her go-ahead. "Attention, this is Captain Parker. I need someone in Engineering to pull the manual brake right now or we burn up."

o.O.o

Telis' head snapped up and he grabbed Dex's PADD, racing through the Tribbles to the main computer room. He dived through the door, darted over to the collection of consoles and scanned it for the lever. The _Everest _was shaking precariously and he knew exactly what was happening.

Another Engineer burst into the room. "Where's the brake?" he asked frantically.

"Here!" Telis shouted, grabbing the lever and pushing it up… up… up… and slamming it down!

o.O.o

The _Everest _jerked as it heaved to a stop, the brakes in place. Everyone was thrown around as the ship came to a complete and sudden stop. Parker clung to his chair with one hand and held Dex in the other. His First Officer looked a little motion sick as he hit the ground hard. Most of the other officers had had time to put on seatbelts, but not Parker and Dex.

Then all movement ceased. Panting, Parker gripped Dex's sleeve and pulled the shaking Trill to his feet.

"Don't worry buddy, we're okay," he said gently. "We're alive, we're okay."

"I know how it was caused!" Dex said in a fluctuating voice. "Somehow a crate of Tribbles got onboard and bred around the conductors, eventually spreading so far that they got into each conductor and severed the connections."

"How the hell did a bunch of Tribbles make it to Engineering?"

"I suspect they were in one of the crates of supplies, and someone thought it was engineering supplies so they took it to Engineering."

Parker cursed. "How many are there?"

Dex whistled, "A _lot_. You'd need half of Starfleet to round that lot up."

"Okay, I need to assemble people to get on that." He glanced at Brigit. "Lieutenant, can you please get us out of here? Don't take us into Warp, just far enough away from the planet that we don't run the risk of burning up if the power fails again."

"Yes Captain."

"Dex, get onto the Tribble problem please." He stood. "Now, where's Nayah?"

o.O.o

Nayah woke slowly, feeling short-of-breath. Someone was pressing a cool cloth to her forehead and she murmured quietly.

"Hey, it's me."

Her eyes snapped open. "Chris? Where am I?"

"You're in the Med Bay," he told her. "I found you and the Communications Officer passed out in a Turbolift and brought you here."

She glanced around and noted the dozen or so crewmembers that also looked like they were suffering from lack of oxygen too. Cristina lay on the bed across from hers, still out cold.

"I don't remember much," she muttered.

"I know." He pressed the cloth against her face again. "Look, our surprise went wrong."

She frowned. "What?"

"The Tribbles bred and got into the ventilation. I suspect they were the cause of the power-out." He paled. "If your dad finds out-"

"Relax, if we tell him it was going to be a surprise then he'll be okay with it."

Fujiwara grimaced. "He'll put two-and-two together. I'm an anthropologist and alien life-forms are my specialty."

"Just relax," she sighed.

At that moment Parker charged through the door, completely ignoring Fujiwara. "How are you honey?"

"I'm fine dad," she said softly. "Cristina's still out cold though."

"You don't feel dizzy, short of breath or anything?" he asked anxiously.

"Dad!" she said firmly. "I'm fine. What happened?"

"Well, a crate of Tribbles got onboard and some idiot put them in Engineering. They bred all over the power conductors and disrupted the flow of power, which put us dead in the water." He sighed. "It's just luck that Dex and Telis were able to get all the Tribbles out of the way and turn the power back on, otherwise we would have burnt up in the atmosphere and people would be dead."

Nayah exchanged a glance with Fujiwara. "Dad, there's something I need to tell you that has to do with the Tribbles…"

o.O.o

After several hours, Cristina was finally waking. Parker was sitting beside her bed and stood as she blinked in confusion.

"Hey buddy," he said softly, "rise and shine."

"What happened?" she murmured.

"Oh, we just had a Tribble problem but that's all taken care of." He told her everything that had happened. "Nayah and Fujiwara thought it would be a good idea to surprise the crew with a brood of Tribbles, but the Tribbles bred faster than expected and almost killed us all."

"I'm sure it was harmless," Cristina told him. "What did you do with the Tribbles?"

"Well, we've gathered them all up in one place and intend to send them back to their homeworld." He snorted. "What a wonderful surprise."

"Give them some leeway," she said in exasperation. "They wanted to do something nice."

"At least I know what they were doing on the planet during the supply run."

o.O.o

Captain Parker strolled onto the Bridge some days later, a smile on his face.

"Captain on the Bridge," Jasec announced. Parker went over to him and grinned at the Bajoran.

"I bet you're glad those Tribbles are gone," he chuckled.

"Yessir, they were a damn nuisance."

Then Parker leant against the neighbouring station. "You ready to continue exploring Cristina?"

"Yes Captain," she replied, smiling softly.

He walked up to the pilot's seat and tapped the woman sitting there. "How are you Brigit?"

"I'm fine Captain," she nodded, "and glad to be rid of those Tribbles."

Chuckling, he crossed to his chair and tapped the communicator. "Mister Telis, no Tribbles in the conductors I trust?"

_"__No Captain, we're all clear of anything cute and fluffy."_

Parker shook his head, "Such a dedicated Engineer." He looked up as his daughter came onto the Bridge. "Hello honey. Are you here for the Warp? I hear that space is nice this time of year." They both grinned at that.

"Yes dad," she said enthusiastically. "Again, I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Ah, it's no biggie. Everyone's fine and I got to have a good pep-talk with your friend about how to be a good father. No harm done." He waved his hands over his head. "I'm actually growing to like the kid."

"I'm glad to hear that." She gave her father a brief hug and stepped aside while the Bridge prepared.

Finally, Dex walked in. He approached Captain Parker and stood beside him. "I'm pleased to note that the Tribbles have been warmly welcomed on their planet and there are no serious repercussions on the ship," he said. "Although I would recommend some time off sometime soon."

"Well you're my First Officer and I must take your advice," Parker said smartly. "Come on, let's go."

"Oh, and Captain…"

"Yes Dex?"

"What should I write in my mission report?"

"That's easy." Captain Parker smirked and reclined into his chair. "We tell them about our trouble with Tribbles."


End file.
